Sunday, September 27, 2009

The Combat Papermakers and Warrior Writers are leaving town today and leaving their mark. Vets and friends & family of vets were touched and changed. Hopefully the local work will continue on...it seems pretty likely.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

While musicians played at Cupa Joe's, Zach, Eric & I began the demonstration stencil process.We taped the stencil edges up with duct tape. Zach rolled little loops of tape and placed them behind the floppier edges. Surprisingly, the wind made the styrene flap around a bit.We masked the area around the stencil with paper. Nothing fancy, newspaper would work.

Zach and I sprayed several colors through the stencil. It was important to hold the sprayer away about 8 inches or so, to reduce over spray on the really rough stucco. When the stencil was removed, the design was pretty clear. I did not expect sharp edges.

We flipped the stencil over, and did another round of colors.The bottom of the stencil was too hard an edge for my taste. So, Zach and I taped off an area and filled it in with the remaining green and purple paint.Zachary Pearl was the artist who designed this first stencil for Corcoran Neighborhood. He gracefully agreed to help do this one. It was pretty easy. We spent maybe 2 or 2 1/2 hours including clean-up. It is helpful to have a friend help you tape the stencil to your surface. It is surprisingly heavy and floppy. Once it is up and masked, it is easy to paint.

MINNESOTA CENTER FOR BOOK ARTS PRESENTS A WEEK FOR PEACE: REFLECTING ON WAR AND COMBAT THROUGH ART

Celebrating A Week for Peace Friday, September 25, 7pm; Open Book Target Performance Hall Join the artists of Combat Paper, the Warrior Writers Project and others for an evening celebrating A Week for Peace through a unique program of poetry, shared personal experiences and visual imagery.

Soon, the picture of Take Another Step will come together. Mark Carlson, Zach and I met with Lisa Calame Berg today to begin planning a poetry night for Mark's show. Lisa will be gathering the poets to speak on October 15 in an event entitled Still Walking: poetry of tenacity. Stay tuned for more!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

The pieces will eventually fit together...Do not miss the opening of Mark Edwin Carlson's show. Lush oil paintings, technicolor almost, combining textures and realism in service of a cause. TAKE ANOTHER STEP Opening October 3, 5-9pm at Susan Hensel Gallery

I became aware of the Combat Paper Project and the Warrior Writers about a year ago through a contact at Minnesota Center for Book Arts. The email said they thought these artists were right up my alley. Subsequently, I showed a Combat Paper Portfolio, made of handmade paper from pulped uniforms, a catharsis for the group of vets who produced it, a catharsis for the vets who viewed it here at Susan Hensel Gallery.

Art takes various forms: comforting, recognizable, new, challenging, frightening... Healing does too. The Combat Papermakers and the Warrior Writers offer the opportunity for local vets of any conflict, of anytime, free of charge, to collaborate in a creative re-invention, a re-organization, a re-formating...a new way of thinking about the personal costs of their service.

The Combat Paper Project in Residence at MCBA September 21–28, 2009

MCBA and Susan Hensel Gallery are proud to host The Combat Paper Project for a week-long residency in MCBA’s studios. Through papermaking workshops, local veterans are given the opportunity to use uniforms worn in combat to create cathartic works of art. The uniforms are cut up, beaten into fiber and formed into sheets of paper. Later, text and imagery created by veterans are printed on the sheets. The public is welcome to visit MCBA’s studios and view the project in progress through the duration of the residency. Registration info at mnbookarts.org.

Please support this residency with your attendance, your donations, or your voice. Please tell others about this. It is far too important to ignore.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

At this stage of her life, Baby the Dog is not noted for her keen perception (hence the diapers). In fact, she has never been noted for her brilliance, just her looks and her sweetness. But even she, beset by Alzheimer's though she is, noticed the real, moist sod on the gallery floor.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Andrea Miller is busy editing the video of HOW TO BUILD AN IGLOO and thinking about the contents and contexts of the installation that opens with a gala reception September, 18, 7-9pm.

But meanwhile, there are things to think about.

The first is the COMBAT PAPER PROJECT and the WARRIOR WRITERS PROJECT. Both are coming to MCBA, in the WEEK FOR PEACE, September 19-28. "From uniform to pulp, battlefield to workshop, warrior to artist"... a healing set of events designed for combat veterans and their friends. There are many different opportunities to participate or attend.The public is welcome to visit MCBA’s studios and view the project in progress through the duration of the residency.

Special events are scheduled to encourage interaction with the veteran artists, but visitors are welcome anytime during MCBA’s open hours. Check the website or call 612.215.2520 for more information.

Coming in October...This image is just one corner of the central image associated with TAKE ANOTHER STEP by Mark Edwin Carlson. Stay tuned for more pieces of the puzzle!

4:00pm The original ice shelf was over 40" long. It broke almost as soon as the performance began. After the performance, Andrea set up a newly constituted ice shelf: shorter pylons, narrower span to take a few pictures of how it might have been.8:30pm It was just too interesting to take down.As I descended from the apartment, I could smell the muddy smell of grass after a rain.As I write this the video camera is recording the slow melt.The reconstituted ice shelf still holds, but it is diminishing fast. Coming back after 4 1/2 hours the change is dramatic.It looks like the High Tides of the Bay of Fundy have been swirling and cutting away the parts.